Bank of America is taking over the former Uno Pizzeria and Grill at Gatehouse Plaza in Merrifield.
The shopping center’s owner, an affiliate of the developer Silver Companies, revealed the identity of its new tenant at 3058 Gate House Plaza in a special exception request that Fairfax County zoning staff accepted for review on Feb. 25.
According to the application, the bank plans to retain the brick facade and footprint of the existing restaurant building, which has been vacant since Uno closed after 25 years of business in January 2025. But the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors’ approval is needed to allow the construction of a drive-through facility.
“Site improvements will be required to accommodate the proposed drive-through use,” Lynne Strobel, a land use attorney with Walsh Colucci Lubeley Walsh, said in a statement for the application. “The existing outdoor dining terrace will be removed as well as a wood building addition adjacent to the outdoor dining terrace.”
As Strobel previously indicated to FFXnow, the drive-through facility will only provide access to an ATM, not full teller services.
The proposed drive-through aisle will be 10 feet wide and accommodate up to four vehicles at a time with three stacking spaces. A 14-foot-wide bypass lane would also be constructed so drivers can get from the north to the south side of the property without going through the drive-through.
As part of the project, Silver Companies will provide a number of improvements for pedestrians, including sidewalks and crosswalks at the northern entrance and southern exit of the drive-through area, a 5-foot-wide sidewalk with landscaping along the eastern edge of the bypass lane, and a crosswalk and sidewalk to connect the new drive aisle to existing sidewalks on Arlington Blvd.
“These pedestrian improvements will ensure that Gatehouse Plaza remains a walkable site, while ensuring better pedestrian connectivity to nearby residential, commercial, and institutional uses,” Strobel wrote in the application.
Bank of America anticipates approximately 200 customers per day and will have around five employees at the new branch during operating hours, which will be 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday. As is typical for banks, the location would be closed on Sundays.
According to the application, converting the former Uno into a drive-through bank will reduce daily traffic to the site by 317 weekday trips.
The submission of a special exception application will trigger a simultaneous review by county staff of a comprehensive plan amendment authorized last October by the Board of Supervisors. The comprehensive plan currently limits Gatehouse Plaza to four drive-through uses — a maximum already met by Starbucks, Panda Express, the Sunoco gas station and Wendy’s, which is slated to be replaced by Raising Cane’s in winter 2027.
